# If you could rename any band, what would be a better name? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 7, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167 "2017-10-07T04:29:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/1 "2017-10-07T04:29:36Z")
For instance, Pearl Jam is a terrible name. They told a couple of unconvincing stories about the origin of the name (first something about Eddie Vedder’s grandma making jam, another about being called “Pearl” at first and adding “Jam” as in a music jam) But everybody knows it’s a childish, jokey way of calling their band “semen”. Now, if you want a good band name for them, the band’s second album is called “Vs.” That would be an excellent name. They could be called Versus and their logo could be stylized as Vs. It’s evocative and tells you that they do hard rock. How about some other bands you like, or dislike, what would be a better name for them? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/2 "2017-10-07T05:03:50Z")
In the mid 1990s, Hootie and the Blowfish toured with Toad The Wet Sprocket. Both bands have said that if they had known they would hit the big time, they would have chosen different names. One of the Monty Python people first heard TTWS while in his car, and when the DJ announced the name of the band, he nearly drove off the road. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/3 "2017-10-07T05:05:15Z")
And then again, there’s always the “who cares what the band sounds like - did you see their name” thing, and the champions of that are probably Anal Cunt and My Penis Is Made Of Dogshit. 😃 :eek: Vomit Launch and Baby Animals were two bands whose names DID NOT reflect the kind of music they did. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b2d939/32.png) [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_Arachnid_Laser_1)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/4 "2017-10-07T05:20:22Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > In the mid 1990s, Hootie and the Blowfish toured with Toad The Wet Sprocket. Both bands have said that if they had known they would hit the big time, they would have chosen different names. > > One of the Monty Python people first heard TTWS while in his car, and when the DJ announced the name of the band, he nearly drove off the road. 😛 Ooooo… Hootie and the Blowfish is absolutely infuriating as a name. It’s the nicknames of two friends of them who weren’t even in the band. I bet they have had to explain a million times that no, the singer is not Hootie, and the rest of the band are not The Blowfish. The Blowfish would have been a perfectly good name. Why not pick that? ---
**Author:** ![dirty\_hippie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/57b2e6/32.png) [@dirty\_hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirty_hippie)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/5 "2017-10-07T05:39:34Z")
Bathtub Shitter, Sagging Testicles…I think these were band names. Bathtub Shitter makes me chuckle. Sent from my C6916 using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![Badger96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Badger96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badger96)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 9:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/6 "2017-10-07T09:38:39Z")
Limp Bizkit would be a candidate. Same reasoning as Pearl Jam- it’s a masturbation/semen reference. Any Blank and the Blank band that isn’t actually the singer’s name and the rest of the band. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/7 "2017-10-07T13:36:15Z")
> [@Badger96](#): > > Any Blank and the Blank band that isn’t actually the singer’s name and the rest of the band. [Flash and the Pan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgOMxTxWPuQ) and Hatfield and the North are obvious exceptions – both great band names. It’s a Beautiful Day is pretty clunky as a band name. They should have chosen the name of their best-known song: “White Bird.” Kak also should have taken their name from one of their songs: “[Electric Sailor](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsHHhtWQanA).” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/8 "2017-10-07T14:27:47Z")
I think the name “A Foot in Coldwater” is kind of awkward. Maybe they should have stuck with “Lords of London” or “Nucleus”. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/9 "2017-10-07T14:50:08Z")
> [@Go\_Arachnid\_Laser](#): > > For instance, Pearl Jam is a terrible name. They told a couple of unconvincing stories about the origin of the name (first something about Eddie Vedder’s grandma making jam, another about being called “Pearl” at first and adding “Jam” as in a music jam) > > But everybody knows it’s a childish, jokey way of calling their band “semen”. > > Now, if you want a good band name for them, the band’s second album is called “Vs.” That would be an excellent name. They could be called Versus and their logo could be stylized as Vs. It’s evocative and tells you that they do hard rock. > > How about some other bands you like, or dislike, what would be a better name for them? Totally agree. Pearl Jam as a name stinks. The best names are ones like Aerosmith and ZZ Top. No real meaning, but cool sounding. (Although ZzTop lifted the ZZ off of ZZ Hill, kinda like Snoop lifted Doggy Dogg off another rapper). Hoobastank is a burden of a name. The Beatles is really a silly name, but we can’t hear it without knowing how cool they made it. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/10 "2017-10-07T16:37:39Z")
One of my favorite bands, **The Old 97s** , has what I think is a pretty terrible name. For people not familiar with the band, I think it conjures up images of groups like “The Good Ole Boys” from the Blues Brothers – a bunch of fat old guys in matching cowboy shirts playing old C&W standards. Unfortunately, I can’t think of anything better. Maybe instead of vaguely referencing an old train disaster song, just name the band something like “The Trainwrecks”? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/11 "2017-10-07T22:31:46Z")
> [@Badger96](#): > > Any Blank and the Blank band that isn’t actually the singer’s name and the rest of the band. One possible exception to that would be Vick Sinex and the Nasal Sprays. 😛 How about all the bands from the 1980s whose moniker was the lead singer’s last name? I will allow one exception, and that was Farren Heit. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/12 "2017-10-07T22:32:52Z")
> [@Badger96](#): > > Limp Bizkit would be a candidate. Same reasoning as Pearl Jam- it’s a masturbation/semen reference. Gosh, and I could have copied the whole post. :smack: How about Finger Eleven? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/13 "2017-10-07T22:34:28Z")
**Ben Folds Five** , aren’t there only three of them? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![eunoia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eunoia/32/97_2.png) [@eunoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eunoia)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/14 "2017-10-07T23:09:36Z")
Electronic musicians Severed Heads might have reached a wider audience with a name like Happy Happy Boing Boing in the 80’s. Album and track names didn’t do much for accessibility either. There was a lot of pressure to humanize (read: infantilize) synth-based music. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2017, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/15 "2017-10-07T23:21:31Z")
[The The](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_The), Matt Johnson’s band, had an unfortunate name, especially for today (though he couldn’t foresee that): it’s ungoogleable. I propose “The Definite Articles” instead. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/16 "2017-10-08T00:24:49Z")
Alabama 3. No idea why they chose Alabama, they’re from the UK and google searches get crapped up with way more results from the American country band. Not sure what else I’d name them, but anything but that. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/17 "2017-10-08T16:03:39Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/18 "2017-10-08T16:14:19Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > One of the Monty Python people first heard TTWS while in his car, and when the DJ announced the name of the band, he nearly drove off the road. 😛 [Here’s the story (Eric Idle)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DR2i2krUkBc). ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/19 "2017-10-08T17:25:29Z")
I thought Joy Division was a cool band name, until I found out what it really was. If you don’t know, it was a Nazi brothel, and no, the women were not there voluntarily. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [October 8, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167/20 "2017-10-08T19:37:29Z")
Was anyone in the 80’s band Asia from an Asian country? I thought I remember readingthat they just picked the band name because it sounded cool. The Wikipedia article doesn’t say where the name came from, just that it was a “supergroup”. If the above is true, then it gets my vote for worst name ever. I don’t really like any band names based on locations. Boston, I’m looking at you! Are you supposed to represent the whole city or something? Not as bad, but I always hated the name Pink Floyd. I’m aware that it’s a combination of the names of two old timey musicians, but it just sounds…goofy… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-you-could-rename-any-band-what-would-be-a-better-name/798167.md?page=2)